Peer to peer transactions (also referred to as person-to-person transactions, P2P transactions or P2P payments) involve electronic money transfers from one person to another through an intermediary, such as a P2P payment application. Example P2P payment applications include Venmo®, PayPal®, and the like.
However, conventional peer to peer transaction methods require users to enter in specific information about other users and participants to the transaction manually such as an email address or phone number. Requiring users to enter information about other users and participants may be prone to typographical errors or mistakes that may cause transaction delays, or erroneous transactions (where transactions are lost or delivered to the wrong individual). Accordingly, there remains a need for the more accurate determination of parties involved in a peer to peer transaction.
Additionally, in conventional peer to peer systems, submitting a peer to peer payment to someone (e.g. peer or merchant/entity) that you have not previously conducted a transaction with is a slow process that requires the input of multiple levels of information and may require the downloading of a specific application or software, or the purchase of specialized hardware. Accordingly, there remains a need for a faster process for initiating transactions between parties who have not previously conducted transactions. Moreover, there is a need for this process to be useable with hardware and software that users are already in possession of.
Additionally, conventional peer to peer systems may be prone to security risks. For example, because conventional peer to peer transactions may be initiated solely using an application on a mobile phone, peer to peer transactions may be fraudulently initiated by someone who has gained access to the phone using a security code, fingerprint, or facial scan, or by someone who has gained access to the peer to peer account through an online portal. Accordingly, there remains a need to be able to securely initiate a peer to peer transaction.